bridge on the river detroit

Canadian police moved in Saturday morning to remove protesters and end a 5-day blockade of Ontario’s Ambassador Bridge, The Associated Press reported.

A Canadian judge on Friday ordered protesters to stop obstructing the bridge, which they had blocked with their vehicles to protest Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions.

The order went into effect at 7:00 p.m. Friday, after which police were empowered to arrest anyone who remained and seize their vehicles.

Despite these threats, the protesters refused to comply, voting instead to “Leave our cars here, park them, get out, stand in front of the intersection, lock arms, no one’s going nowhere,” as one demonstrator put it.

Some vehicles reportedly left overnight, while others abandoned the bridge as police moved in. According to CNN, by 10:00 a.m. there were only around 20 protester vehicles remaining. No arrests have been reported.

Ambassador Bridge connects Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. The bridge is responsible for about a third of U.S.-Canada trade, The New York Times notes.